The Legacy of Yunnan Gongfu Black Tea: Born from the Shadows of WWII
Discover the remarkable story of Yunnan Gongfu Black Tea (Dian Hong), born during the turmoil of World War II. From a wartime necessity to one of China's most iconic exports,...
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Caffeine and Your Tea: Myths and Misconceptions
There are a surprisingly large number of people with caffeine sensitivities. Even when exposed to low amounts, these people will experience the effects from it, suffering from sleep disturbances or...
How to Season a Yixing Purple Clay Teapot
Whether you’ve just purchased your first Yixing teapot or are simply thinking about it, it’s important to know that some care should be taken to ready your teapot for seasoning....
The Complete Guide to Iced Tea, Pt. II: Cold Brewing
In last week’s post, we offered a step-by-step guide to “flash chilling,” a method used to make iced tea that is quick and easy, but in spite of this convenience,...
The Complete Guide to Iced Tea, Pt. I: Flash Chilling
Summer is quickly approaching, and as the temperatures begin to rise, so do our desires for cooler drinks to combat the heat. A long-time favorite in this regard for many...
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Teacup Shapes
In wine tasting, oenophiles, sommeliers, and other experts have long understood how the structure, shape, and material of a wine glass can influence the flavors and aromatics of the wine....
What is Lapsang Tea? Just the Best Black Tea You can Drink in the Fall Season!
The change of the seasons is always an exciting time of the year. For many of us, the weather gets cooler, sometimes uncomfortably so, and people everywhere are filled with...
Essential Teaware Explained: Your Guide to Gaiwan, Pt. 1 (Background)
If you’ve ever attended a tea tasting, visited a tea bar, browsed the wares in a tea shop, or even awkwardly dropped in on a friend who was right...
If Your Tea Doesn’t Taste Right, You May Be Making One of the Most Common Mistakes
Following up last week’s blog on some of the most important elements that affect your perfect cup of tea, we decided to complement that advice by zeroing in on an all-too-common...
How to Make the Perfect Cup of Tea? Remember: WWTT
Sometimes no matter how hard you try, your cup of tea just doesn’t turn out right. Does it taste too weak? Too bitter? Maybe it doesn’t taste right? What could...
The Story of Keemun Black Tea: How the World’s Most Famous Black Tea Came to Be
In 1875, a retired civil servant named Yu Gan Chen returned home to Qimen County after spending some of his professional life in the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian. At the...
Celebrate Mother’s Day with the Right Cup of Tea
Mother’s Day is just around the corner (Sunday, May 13)! And so if you’re wondering how to celebrate the occasion, might we suggest that there’s nothing better than a good...
Three Tea Life Hacks You’ll Wish You Started Doing Yesterday
A life hack refers to any tricks, shortcuts, or other lifestyle changes that can improve the quality of our lives in big ways with very little costs. Drinking a can...
Your Guide to the Tea Cup – Part I
Contrary to popular belief, wine connoisseurs have only discovered recently the importance of the wine glass and the role that it plays in enhancing the taste of their favorite...
Making Tea? This is the Most Important Thing to Have - Part I
One of the most exciting elements of being a loose leaf tea drinker is the beauty of the entire tea drinking experience. And if there’s any one thing that can...
A Beginner’s Guide to Loose Leaf Tea
Loose leaf tea makes for some incredible cups of tea, especially if you know what you are doing. So many people, used to the convenience of bagged tea, let these...
The Colors of Our Teas – A Quick and Friendly Guide to Tea Types
Tea comes in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors, ranging from the ethereal and mysterious Moonlight White tea to the rich and earthy Lao Liu Bao dark tea. To...
That One Tea Steeping Trick : Leaf Agitation
Today, we’re going to look at a step that might be more even neglected than the water pouring, and that is agitation. If you have ever observed any of the...
These Three Benefits of Black Tea Make it the Perfect Winter Life Hack
We tend to associate green and white teas with the spring and summer seasons and oolong and black teas with the fall and winter seasons. There could be any number...
Thanksgiving's Blessings and Nature's Great Gift
What was once one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States next to Christmas has become an increasingly discussed subject of controversy. Most of us are familiar with...
The Perfect Tea Gift Guide: Eight Exceptional Gift Ideas for the Tea Lover in Your Life
It is hard to believe, but the Holiday Season is almost upon us, officially starting in one week on Thanksgiving. While it is a season to be celebrated with good...
Ranking the Top Three Teas to Help Keep you Warm
Not many people enjoy frigid temperatures, but there’s no denying that it brings some exciting smells, flavors, foods, and drinks. So with colder weather finally beginning to settle in, we...
How to Measure Your Loose Leaf Tea
It can be a little difficult transitioning from bagged tea to loose leaf tea. Bagged teas can make things convenient for tea drinkers because they have already separated the tea...
How to Make the Switch from Coffee to Tea
For many Americans, coffee is a part of one’s daily morning routine. Whether one opts for more fine control over the process by using the pourover method, finds comfort in...
What Is Pu’erh Tea and Why Is It So Captivating? (Part II)
There is no denying that the flavor of pu’erh tea is very unique and complex. If you have had experience with it before, you have probably noticed that every brand...
The History of Tea Bags
For the past several decades, we have lived in a culture of convenience. Contributing to this trend has been the emergence of the tea bag. The use of...
The World of Natural Flavored and Scented Teas
Last week, we looked at some of the problems with flavored teas in the tea market. Between questionable additives, use of inferior teas, unnatural or overpowering flavors, and inflated pricing,...
New Harvest Spring White and Black Teas
Last week, we briefly reviewed some of our latest green tea offerings for this season, and so this week, we turned our attention to our newest white and black teas....
What is Oxidation in Tea?
Last week, we shined some light on the world of tea processing by looking at Long Jing Dragonwell green tea to gain some insight into exactly how some of these...
Some Ideas to Pair Your Favorite Food with Tea
Tea can be enjoyed on nearly every occasion, but perhaps one of the best times to unwind with your favorite cup is when you get a chance to pair it...
How to Clean Your Teaware
Loose leaf tea can be an invitation into a world of grace, beauty, elegance, and thoughtfulness. One cannot help but notice the color and expanded shape of the freshly-infused tea...
A Look at the Emerging Trend of Tea and Food Pairing
While many tea and beverage enthusiasts might know that tea and wine have some things in common, such as the importance of terroir in influencing aromas and flavors, people are...
Tea Spotlight: Award Winning Keemun Imperial Gongfu Black Tea
We are proud to announce that our Keemun Imperial Gongfu Black Tea is a winner in the 2017 Global Tea Championship!!! Keemun is considered one of the world’s...
Why Single Origin Tea?
The spring is near around the corner, my annual tea sourcing trip is coming up. This year the weather has been warmer so the harvest season is coming earlier. I...
How Tea is Made
Sometimes when we see the price of high-quality tea, we wonder whether it’s worth it. We think the taste speaks for itself, but that’s not the only thing that’s taken...
Yellow Tea: The Liquid Gold Historically Reserved for Royalty
Those of us new to the world of loose leaf tea are usually surprised to find that tea can be classified into more than just green and black tea varieties....
Pu'erh Tea Fundamentals: What Is Pu'erh Tea and Why is it Special?
Puerh tea originated in the Yunnan Province in China, somewhere around the 4th Century. In fact, it derives its name from Pu’er City, which is located in southern Yunnan Province....
What You Need to Know About the World's First Black Tea Lapsang Souchong Black Tea
What is Lapsang Souchong black tea? There’s a good chance that you’ve never had true Lapsang tea. (If you have, count yourself among the blessed!) Lapsang...
Art of Preparing Tea II
In the Art of Preparing Tea I, we discussed why different tea preparation techniques can be useful and introduced two of them. Today’s entry will focus on Gongfu Style and...
The Secret to Amazing Iced Tea - Cold Brew!
Beat the heat with a great home-made cold brew! For an amazingly refreshing, full-flavored and healthy iced tea experience, we recommend a cold-brew of our premium Anji Bai Cha green...
The True Origin of the First Black Tea, Lapsang Souchong
As part of our mission to bring you the finest teas from their historical origins, I am currently traveling throughout China and have arrived at legendary Tong Mu Guan village in...